Severance Rights – Attorney Blog

Author: employeerightswisconsin

Hello, I am Michael Brown, an attorney who represents employees in employment law matters. I assist employees with matters concerning Unpaid Wages, Fraud, Discrimination/Harassment, Unemployment, Wrongful Discharge/Whistleblowing, Contracts, Pre-Litigation Counseling, and Litigation (Federal and State Courts, ERD, EEOC, other forums). I have represented hundreds of employees with diverse jobs, backgrounds, and nationalities. My clients have included entry-level workers, and professionals and executives from large organizations.

Say your employer told you that your employment is going to end, and you have the “choice” to resign rather than be fired. (Many employers do this in conjunction with presenting a severance agreement that has a “resignation notice” as an exhibit the employee can sign and submit). Understandably, if your employer puts you in this situation, you may view your impending decision in the terms the employer presented: “Should I resign or not?” This is actually not the question you should decide. At least not at first. There are more important factors to consider before giving the employer an answer … Continue reading To Resign or Not Resign? That Is NOT the Question. Consider These Factors First…

Many employees who are discharged or offered a severance will, understandably, research internet information about what options they may have. For example, it is common for a discharged employee to research internet information about legal complaints, such as discrimination or wage complaints. For workers offered a severance agreement, it is common for them to research internet information about what a “typical” or fair severance payment may be, what leverage may exist to negotiate better terms with the employer, etc. Many workers then rely on such internet research to take various actions, e.g. they go on to file a discrimination complaint, … Continue reading Discharged or Offered a Severance? Don’t Drive Down a New Road Before Ensuring it’s the Right Direction

Generally speaking, fired managerial, executive and professional workers have better opportunities for severance improvements than do non-managerial workers. But some managers make mistakes in negotiations. Continue reading Should You Get a Local Attorney?

According to a study of employment discrimination settlements that occurred in 1,170 cases settled by federal magistrate judges in Chicago over a six-year period ending in 2005, “The mean settlement amount is $54,651 … and the median is $30,000.” These numbers applied for single-employee litigants, as opposed to class-action figures, which are higher. Continue reading Mean and Median Settlement Values of Employment Discrimination Cases

An H-1B worker represented by the attorney-author and his co-counsel was awarded $223,884.27 in unpaid wages, in the decision and order below, by the Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Our client is a surgeon who formerly worked as an H-1B employee for the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU School of Medicine), in the job position of Assistant Professor in the Department and Division of General Surgery. OALJ’s order found that SIU SM underpaid the H-1B worker, and failed to pay her the required actual wage, as compared to wages that … Continue reading Successful DOL Decision for H-1B Worker/Surgeon With Complaint Against Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

If your employment has been terminated and you have been offered a severance agreement, many areas of law could potentially be involved with your situation. An employee rights attorney who reviews a severance situation will have a mental checklist of such laws to consider. Those laws generally include: (1) contract law; (2) laws that make certain job-terminations unlawful, e.g. various Federal and State discrimination laws, whistleblower-retaliation laws, “wrongful discharge” laws, etc.; (3) wage laws that govern severance pay or payment of residual unpaid wages from employment such as commissions, bonuses, overtime, deferred compensation, etc.; (4) laws that govern employer-provided benefits such as health insurance … Continue reading Areas of Law That Could Relate to a Severance and/or Job Termination

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